SOME HUNTING CHANGES 141 



huntsman more than being left. When a fox has 

 really gone it is the duty of a huntsman, according 

 to the late Lord Berkeley's dictum on a historic 

 occasion, " to blow his horn and shout c gone 



away ' or ' gone to ' or something." Then, 



and then only, is he to be excused for making a 

 noise, and then he ought to make one. 



Another new departure, and one which seems 

 to me a very objectionable one, is the pace at 

 which hounds are taken from one covert to 

 another. This is a growing evil. Instead of the 

 regulation " hound trot," the pace is a round trot 

 of seven or even more miles an hour, and when 

 there is grass handy a strong canter is sometimes 

 indulged in. At other times a big line across a 

 country is selected. This is all wrong. To go at 

 such a pace from covert to covert severely handi- 

 caps the man who has only one horse, for he 

 always finds this tell on his horse before the end of 

 the day, and he not infrequently has to miss the 

 end of a good thing because his horse has been 

 unduly bustled in going from covert to covert. 

 Similarly, taking a big line over a country is to be 

 avoided when drawing. There are plenty of men, 

 good sportsmen, too, who do not aspire to ride 

 over a country, but who like to see a bit of fun 

 from the lanes and bridle roads. There is no 

 reason why they should not have their fun, and 

 they are frequently good supporters of the hunt. 

 Therefore, Masters of Hounds, in the interests of 

 the sections of their hunt to which I have drawn 

 attention, would do well to consider the question 

 of pace and route when going from covert to 

 covert. 



